About us

Rob Joanisse

Originally from North Bay, Rob Joanisse was introduced to Ashtanga Yoga by his primary teachers Mark Darby and Allison Ulan at the Ashtanga Yoga Studio in Montreal in 1998. He completed the studio’s 500-hour teacher certification course and is certified with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT 500) and has been teaching yoga since 2001. Rob has also studied Iyengar yoga with Hart Lazer, one of North America’s foremost yoga instructors, attended numerous workshops with Pattabhi Jois, Sharath, Richard Freeman, Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty.  He is also an accomplished professional drummer; won a Juno Award with Bran Van 3000; recorded with Ric Ocasek of The Cars; teaches drum lessons and accompanies yoga and dance classes. Rob co-founded and co-owns Vinyasa with Cristina Lella.

Natalie DeMarco

Natalie’s fascination with the human body and movement has led her to various avenues of fitness and therapy. It was only a matter of time before she discovered yoga in 2012 on a journey to heal her own injuries and trauma from previous motor vehicle accidents. Although she started out with a focus on the Ashtanga yoga practice, she explored various other styles of yoga and then settled on a teacher training in Classical Hatha yoga in Rishikesh, India. She also studied restorative and Iyengar yoga, and then completed another 300hr of yoga teacher training with Jules Mitchell Yoga, registering with Yoga Alliance as a RYT-500. Currently a registered Kinesiologist in Ontario, Natalie thrives on guiding individuals through rehabilitative movement therapy, both as a Kinesiologist in a clinical setting, and through her Yoga teachings, and Thai yoga massage bodywork. She has been an active practitioner of Thai yoga massage for nearly a decade, acquiring her training in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Alex Albert

Marvelled by the cosmos, Alex Albert’s passion for healing and quest for meaning has led her down many paths, including the practice of yoga and mindfulness. With a background in health sciences and a 200hr vinyasa yoga training, Alex weaves her knowledge as an astrologer and psychotherapist-in-training into her teaching style to help students become more aware, spiritually connected, and attuned to their body’s wisdom. Alex considers yoga to be a deep homecoming journey, on and off the mat.

Aura Tonietto-Rapai

Aura Tonietto-Rapai is a new, young mom in the area, and she is eager to connect with our community. Growing up in Brant County, Aura was a competitive gymnast most of her life. She also worked along side her mother, running a health and fitness business. Movement has been something Aura has always known. Her career started as a gymnastics coach, and then a group fitness instructor/outdoor Bootcamp coach. At the age of 19, she went to India to learn the art of Yoga through a 200Hr teacher training with Vinyasa Yoga School. During this training, Aura had developed a student / teacher relationship with her still current teacher Ratheesh Kochukaattil. Through this relationship, Aura was invited to be the lead Vinyasa teacher in a 200hr YTT Veda Yoga Ashram in Kerala, India. 

Through her rich Yoga experiences and experience in founding Nu-U Float Studio with her family in Brantford, ON led her to finding a passion for plant medicines, the art of float therapy / sensory deprivation, and holding sacred space for circles and ceremonies.  For Aura, movement is medicine but it’s in stillness, she believes, where all the magic happens. As a teacher, and human, Aura prides herself in being able to deeply appreciate and learn from everyone who crosses her path. Although mostly trained in Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga, Aura enjoys diversity in her classes and will incorporate different styles to create a class she feels is most effective for her students.

Pamela Simpson

Pamela received her 200-hour yoga teacher training certification through Awaken Love Yoga studio in Toronto. She is trained in Hatha, Vinyasa and
Kundalini Yoga and as a Reiki Master, infuses these modalities into restorative, trauma-sensitive yoga classes and workshops. She uses elements from the medicine wheel, astronomy and biology to create a deeply shifting experience; starting with themed intentions and wrapping up with a beautifully channelled Shavasana.

This alchemy is rooted in science as a pharmacist, complimented by her passion to explore the body’s true untapped potential to heal, regenerate and expand.
She has studied numerous modes of natural healing with the intention to bridge Eastern and Western philosophies in healing of the body, mind and soul. In no particular order, these three aspects of self, interplay and feed each other like braided strands of DNA for our ultimate expression in the human experience. Yoga is a beautiful tool to turn our focus internally so that we may clear our conduit to the more that is us.
Pam is deeply honoured and excited to share space in this amazing community.

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